Action
Research Report
Executive
Summary
The vision of this project was to compile multiple sources for parents
and staff in connecting with key stakeholders, community leaders, and
partnerships available. In order to fulfill this vision, various researches
were done in networking and developing cost-efficient alternatives. The goal helped
establish the best practices in the initiation of the best technology programs
that give students who are economically disadvantaged a fair chance with use of
technology tools of the 21st century. The study resulted in finding
1000 technology programs and ideas that can benefit economically disadvantaged
students from low income environments.
The technology resources that were found cover various curriculum
subject areas that can help increase student performance, and develop the
abilities to critically think about key standards in educational content. With
various budget cuts being made within the state and district, I was able to
compile various free resources into one document. This study found what was available
in order to close any gaps and evaluate what is to be utilized and how to
utilize it. This study has further prepared the campus population of parents,
staff, and administrators in providing tools of reinforcement for all students.
Title and Author
Exploring Resources and Partnerships in Providing Technology
Resources and the best 21st Century Tools for Economically
Disadvantaged Students by Ms. Melondy Roberson
Section
One-Introduction
/ Background
William B Travis Elementary, a recognized campus, is located in the
Port Arthur Texas, a small suburban community of southeast Texas. The ethnic distribution is 64.2% Hispanic,
26.2 % African American, 4.3% Asian, 2.2% white, and 0.8% other. 92 % of
students are economically disadvantaged and 42.4% Limited English Proficient.
The current position in conducting this study is the role of a second grade
educator. The study will serve as a means in finding cost efficient programs,
grants, websites, and local partnerships that will support technology
integration in the 21st century classroom. This study will involve
networking and collaborating with parents, students, staff, and community
stakeholders to help differentiate instruction and find additional tools for
established reinforcement through the best practices in technology. Any significant changes may be faced the
through any biases opinions about the role that technology has through
reinforcing content, differentiated instruction, user friendly capabilities, and
the motivation of students.
Nature
of the Problem
Cuts are being made toward educational programs and funding initiated by
the state. These cuts have affected district technology programs and have
resulted in limitations for new programs being installed and outdated
equipment. The process of the research will find solutions for establishing
cost efficient programs and resources for such a high economically
disadvantaged population by utilizing the resources that are already out there.
The purpose of this
action research study is to provide and compile a list of current technology
programs being used and analyze the information to improve technology and find
cost efficient programs and partnerships that will benefit districts with at
least 70 percent of economically disadvantaged students.
This study is initiated toward target campuses that
have at least a 70% population of economically disadvantaged students. This
study will further add to the knowledge base of K-12 technology for
administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community leaders by
connecting resources from various areas to establish them in one place. These
resources will provide additional tools to better technology programs and
services. The websites resources will
provide educationally based opportunities for students to develop learning
within games, virtual learning, research-based connections for school projects,
and much more. In addition, adding an extra tool to enhance curriculum at home
and school.
Definition
of Terms
Differentiated
Instruction-
is a framework or philosophy for effective
teaching that involves providing students with different avenues to acquiring content; to processing,
constructing, or making sense of ideas; and to developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability.
Title 1- Title I
is a section of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act that is
aimed at helping low-income students who are at risk of failing in school.For a
school to qualify as a Title I school, 40 percent of its total enrollment must
come from low-income families.
English Language Learner- Student of limited
English proficiency" means a student whose primary language is other than
English and whose English language skills are such that the student has
difficulty performing ordinary classwork in English.
Section
2:
Literature Review
Topic 1: Technology is a part of today in the digital
age of the 21st century.
The first part of
the research done involves establishing the benefits of technology according to
brain research and current studies about the differentiated instruction as it
benefits to the digital age learner.
The Center for
Applied Special Technology is an organization purposed to include all students
regardless of ability or background. It is geared toward all students in
selecting the most effective technology. This organization understands that
each brain learns differently and researches ways to differentiate instruction
so that educators may provide the best for their students. Each researcher
studies the three networks of the brain.
Next, I found
knowledge from an article entitled,
Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age. This article lets the reader
know that every child is not the same and that we need flexible instruction in
order to reach them. The wonderful thing about technology versus traditional
textbooks is that it does not come in a one size fits all format. We need flexible media to engage our
students. The authors Rose and Meyer say, “Learners capacities are not
inherent; capacities are defined by the interplay between learners abilities
and the tools they use.”
Topic 2: Technology has been shown to increase student
achievement in several areas and helps motivate learners.
In a review of existing evidence of technology's impact on
learning, Marshall (2002) found strong evidence that educational technology
"complements what a great teacher does naturally," extending their
reach and broadening their students' experience beyond the classroom.
"With ever-expanding content and technology choices, from video to
multimedia to the Internet," Marshall suggests "there's an
unprecedented need to understand the recipe for success, which involves the
learner, the teacher, the content, and the environment in which technology is
used" (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory,
2005). The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory has done much research
on the technological effects on student learning. The results show a positive
effect in student learning in the subjects of reading a math in uses discrete
educational programs (DES). The definition of the discrete educational programs
include the use of programs such as integrated learning systems (ILS),
computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and computer-based instruction (CBI).
Further studies done by Software and Information Industry Association have
shown positive and consistent student achievement when students were engaged in
technology enriched environments. The student targeted the area of pre-school
through high school as well as in the regular education and special education
departments.
One of the articles
that I most enjoyed was entitled, The
Impact of Education Technology of Student Achievement. Research shows that
students learn more in less time when receiving computer based instruction and
that they enjoy their classes more when there is computer based instruction. I
have noticed that my students love working on the computer during our station
time and that engages them. When students have a positive attitude toward
something then they tend to achieve higher. Students are in a technology
enriched society that promotes the latest technologies in a positive
light. It reinforces what has been
already taught and reaches all types of learners from visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic learners. The research also positively showed that students scored
in the 64 percentile on test of achievement versus the 50 percentile without
the computer.
The negative results
did show that technology was not as effective in all areas especially
standardized testing concepts such as vocabulary, reading comprehension, and
mathematics. Technology can be used to enhance and add additional reinforcement
to learning.
Secondly, Rowan-Salisbury School
System administrators say technology is one of the primary resources being used
to bridge the achievement gap among economically disadvantaged students
(Campbell 2010). This particular school system provided I-POD touches that
students could use at home and school. This was explained to be a great
opportunity because economically disadvantaged student may not have otherwise
had the opportunity to use these types of technology. The North Rowan principal
says, "These are applications that many would not have at home if we did
not provide it. It definitely provides a level of access and exposure that will
ensure their success as a student.” He further explains that these technologies
can give students access and connections to things virtually and build
additional connections to the content in the classroom. As they are exposed to
more knowledge then it allows them to be better performers in the classroom as
they can relate to the schema.
Section
3-
Action Research Design
Subjects
The target population is initiated towards the individual campus that
will soon hope to benefit other campuses with a population of at least 70
percent of economically disadvantaged students.
Procedures and Timeline
|
Action Plan
Proposed Timeline
|
||||
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Goal: To
seek and compose a list of at least 1000 technology programs and ideas that
can benefit economically disadvantaged students in various subject areas and
help increase student performance.
In
what ways is technology being used to benefit our elementary students who are
economically disadvantaged?
What type of technology is currently
being used?
How do teachers feel about technology?
What are free technology programs that
may benefit economically disadvantaged students?
How to use technology to increase
student performance?
|
||||
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Action
Steps(s):
|
Person(s)
Responsible:
|
Timeline:
Start/End
|
Needed
Resources
|
Evaluation
|
|
Faculty and staff will have all the needed
information of how to access the technology currently used in their school
|
Technology Specialist,
Assistant Principal, Interim Principal
|
August 2012-November 2012
|
Interviews with technology department leaders,
technology reports, principal, and curriculum coordinator
|
A follow-up survey will be given on the
effectiveness of now being able to access current technology and feedback
given to any additional questions
|
|
The campus will know various benefits of the
current technology programs
|
Assistant Principal, Curriculum Coordinator, and Technology
Specialist
|
November 2012-February 2013
|
Books, Internet Research, Lamar Resource
folder, blogs, journals, surveys, and IPAD applications, Promethean Boards
and interviews
|
A follow-up presentation will be given with
benefits including a feedback session. I will use a checklist to evaluate.
|
|
A list of 1000 technology programs and
resources will be complied for economically disadvantaged students. This list
will be given to faculty and staff.
Professional Development session for faculty
and staff and then parents.
|
Websites, various teachers of things that
they use in their classrooms (even from other districts), principal, and
curriculum coordinator
|
February 2013-April 2013
|
Texas Bureau, Orange &Beaumont Public
Library, Blogs, Books, and Internet References
|
A follow-up survey will be given on the
effectiveness of the list and plan.
|
|
Recommendations of what can be added to
improve student performance will be given according to the research
|
Interviews and quotes of various teachers of
what is already being done in their classrooms and what data seems to be
beneficial for their students/grade level
|
April 2013- June 2013
|
Teacher and Faculty Surveys, Quotes, Books,
and Internet Research
|
A follow-up newsletter will be sent given
based on the study as well as a recommendation box
|
Data Collection
Data for this study
will be collected thorough ongoing interviews, observational checklist,
questionnaires, and surveys. Surveys will be given to faculty, staff, and
parents about views of technology and resources that they know are already
readily available to them. Data
collected from interviews with stakeholder and experts was continuously recorded
and evaluated throughout the project.
Section
4-Findings
The basis of my finding resulted in the 1000
websites from the subject areas of math, science, reading, social studies,
language arts, and teacher and parent websites. This resulted in approximately 150
websites for each subject area as well as an additional list of national,
state, and local partnerships. This list consist of technology and academic
program promoters who offer free services and resources at some point during
the year.
I have listed
a portion of the top sites included
from my list below from each subject area:
|
Teacher and Parent Websites, Math, Science,
Reading and Language Arts
|
Description
|
|
This website offers lesson plans to teachers
according to the standards.
|
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Teachers get your free 250 business cards today.
|
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This website includes lesson plans and a math
library. There are classroom resources and worksheets.
|
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Gain resources and join a free learning community
today.
|
|
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The website offers access to lesson plans, online
glossaries, and puzzles for elementary students.
|
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This website is an interactive website that allows
children to practice their basic math skills.
|
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This website offers free lessons, worksheets, and
ideas in the area of literacy.
|
|
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This website is sponsored by the National Wildlife
Federation and gives pictures and information about animal wildlife.
|
|
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Find educational video clips to add
differentiation to your classroom lessons and engage students.
|
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This website offers many free Science videos to
show your students in the understanding of several topics.
|
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This website offers 1000 lesson plans about
animals and over 1000 website links to additional topics.
|
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The website allows teachers to make toys from
common household materials. Teachers can demonstrate scientific principles.
|
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The website offers hundreds of lesson plans along
the line of physics.
|
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Teachers can upload and crop pictures for free.
|
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Free Video and Voice Calls
|
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This website allows you to create polls for your
classroom.
|
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This website offers information about multiple
intelligences and provides lesson plans.
|
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This website provides English teaching and
learning materials.
|
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Teachers have access to multicultural materials
and handouts
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This website offers charts, forms, and contracts
for behavior management.
|
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This website is a children’s magazine that offers
games, activities, an d online reports that teachers can use in the
classroom.
|
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This website offers 5000 downloadable worksheets.
|
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This website offers activities and lesson plan
ideas.
|
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This website allows kids to create original
artwork.
|
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This website allows you to make videos that you
can easily incorporate into your lesson.
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This website offers addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division interactive flash cards and games.
|
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Students can play interactive games to help them
learn their multiplication facts.
|
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Students can practice multiplication and compete
against the computer.
|
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This website offers educational videos and games.
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Free Educational Games and Videos
|
|
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This website puzzles, word problems, and
worksheets for kids.
|
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This website offers educational math games for
kids.
|
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Students create their own math worksheets to
practice basic math.
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This website allows you to create various graphs.
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Multimedia games and problem solving activities
|
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Students can work basic math problems and set a
timer to see how well they do.
|
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A
dictionary that puts difficult math terms in a simple language
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Educational math games
|
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Students can practice basic math facts.
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Math Exercises
|
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Language and Spelling
Interactive video clips and images of cells
|
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Information to children about ecology
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Biology for kids facts and articles
|
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Age appropriate information about chemistry for
kids
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Age appropriate information about geography for
kids
|
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This website is an actual magazine. (articles and
games)
|
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Students can dissect a frog online.
|
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Science games
|
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This website offers 15 estuaries live on demand
for individuals and the whole class.
|
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Preschool games and videos
|
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This is the official site for NASA providing
pictures and updates.
|
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This website offers science facts, activities, and
pop quizzes.
|
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This website offers fun science experiments and
crafts.
|
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This website offers a zoo gallery where students
can see animals in infrared light which allows students to understand the
difference between cold blooded and warm blooded animals.
|
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This website allows students to take a tour of the
human body.
|
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Provides science information about the solar
system, human life, and so much more
|
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Learn interesting facts about the solar system
|
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Students can explore science videos and watch from
more than 10 topics.
|
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This website offers a virtual tour of anywhere on
Earth.
|
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Students can access a wide range of topics in
history, games, maps, and timelines
|
|
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This website offers news, pictures, and articles
about current events.
|
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Daily news for student about topics currently
going on in the world
(Grades 6-12)
|
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This website offers information about social
studies.
|
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This is an interactive, educational, and fun
website that provides interesting facts for children.
|
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This is an online world geography game.
|
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This website offers an International Etiquette
Dining Quiz.
|
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This website offers games, maps, and history.
|
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This website offers news and current events just
for kids.
|
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This website offers news and current events just
for kids.
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This website offers various types of maps.
|
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This website is a fun way for kids to learn about
government and the role of law making.
|
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This website allows students to play grade level
social studies games.
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This website allows students to learn facts and
take social studies quizzes.
|
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This website allows students to read stories about
the world and play geography games.
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This website allows students to practice economic
skills by saving and budgeting.
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This website offers fun facts about different
states.
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This website allows students to create a city.
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This website gives students various resources to
research social studies topics.
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Some
of the National, State, and Local Agencies in Promoting Reading and Technology
Programs
|
Public Library
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YMCA
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Chevron Philips
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Chamber of Commerce
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Community in Schools
|
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Phi Delta Kappa local chapters ( Sorority for
Administrators and Teachers)
|
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Texas Computer Education Association
|
Section
5-
Conclusions and Recommendations
I feel that my study was a success in ultimately
opening the eyes of others in promoting several free, available, and cost
efficient resources out there. Students who come from economically
disadvantaged families can also have access to the internet and various local
agencies such as the public library. Parents can help educate their students
and students can partake in advancement of their own learning.
I found that many of the programs are blocked from
the local school filtering system. I hope to promote and fight the barrier to
include many of these educational websites in the future where they can be
included in the district system as a means to grow the technology program and
give students more opportunities for differentiation and key development to
enhance current standards. This seems to be a common problem among teachers and
students who may try and conduct research for access limitations.
There is still much research to be done on this
topic because there are continuous resources and websites out there that can
promote educational technology as tools and aids for success. I encourage
administrators, teachers, and parents to keep researching information and
adding to the list.
References
North Central
Regional Educational Laboratory. (2005). Critical issue: Using technology to improve student achievement.
Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm#issue
Taranga. (2009, June
19). Different types of technology and
educational applications. Retrieved from http://taranga-tuphan.blogspot.com/2009/06/different-types-of-technology-and-their.html
Schacter, J. (1999). The impact of
education technology on student achievement: What the most current research has
to say. Santa Monica, CA: Milken Exchange on Education Technology.
Retrieved from http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME161.pdf.
Rose, D., &
Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal
design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special
Technology Web site. Chapter 1. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/
The
Brain Research
Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). The Brain
Research. Retrieved from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
Diversity
of Learners
Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). Diversity of
Learners. Retrieved from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
Sarah Campbell. (2010, December 19). Technology helps bridge achievement gaps. Salisbury Post. Retrieved
on March 10, 2012 at http://www.salisburypost.com/News/121910-Poverty-Technology-qcd
Fichman, Nancy Dana (2009). Leading with Passion
and Knowledge: The
principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
